Amid the whirlwind of E3 reveals, trailers, demonstrations and showcases, it seems that THQ has attempted to slide one particular piece of news under the rug: the closure of its San Diego studio.
Several tweets by industry commenters suggest that THQ has done exactly that:
RIP, THQ San Diego, WWE All-Stars studio.June 5, 2012
THQ may have just fired everyone from their San Diego office and closed the studio. They wanted to bury the news in the #E3 bustle.June 4, 2012
THQ fired everyone at THQ San Diego today Dan. They did on an E3 day to bury the news. Bad form.June 5, 2012
If true, it means that THQ's $200,000 that was spent to acquire the studio following the collapse of Midway in 2009 has contributed towards three years of game development - specifically, games within the UFC and WWE licenses. Money well spent? We'll let you draw your own conclusions on that one.
We've reached out to THQ for comment and clarification, and will update this story as soon as we know more.
UPDATE: THQ responded with the following statement:
“THQ confirms that today's announcement regarding the UFC license transition will affect the company's San Diego studio. THQ is working closely with those relevant staff to either find possible employment within the company, or potentially with EA.”
